Background
The Folding Attic Stairway Transport System relates generally to material transport and lifting system which can be used in conjunction with a folding attic stairway or ladder to elevate materials from the garage or lower floor to the above attic floor. Extreme difficulty is often encountered in lifting heavy objects to the attic floor. Often there is material in ones hands to cause unbalance. Unsteady feet on the steps are exacerbated by the extra weight of the material transported. There may even be a need to use a second person to handle the excess weight or steady the material container being transported to and from the attic. Often back, arms and leg muscles end up strained. Or, the material is dropped and damaged. Or even worse, a person falls and is hurt in the process of moving material to and from the attic.
Problem
There is a need for an apparatus that can easily be attached to a folding stairway and used to lift loads to the surface of the attic floor. The apparatus should be capable of operating and functioning with a single person controlling the material to and from the attic floor. Accordingly, there is a need for the Folding Attic Stairway Transport System with powered or manual means such as a winch to safely and efficiently move materials up and down the stairway. The material transport can be used in conjunction with a folding stairway to lift material from a first position to a higher position. There is a further need for an apparatus that can be easily installed to fit the width of a particular stairway—existing or new. The apparatus should be capable of being folded into a compact form along with the typical folding stairway systems.
Prior Art
As far as known there are no other devices or process that perform the function of the Folding Attic Stairway Transport System. A U.S. Pat. No. 8,002,512 issued to Blehm (2011) and entitled “Material Transport” shows a material transport system and method of use. The system includes a base assembly having an adjustable width, a material support platform attached to the base assembly, the platform supported angularly above the base by support tubes attached to the base assembly, guides aligned along the length of the base assembly, the rails removably attached to the underside of the base assembly, and a left pair and a right pair of wheels axially mounted between each rail guide pair. It is portable and designed for extension ladders and the like. It does not teach or anticipate MacDonald's Folding Attic Stairway Transport System. Another U.S. Pat. No. 8,851,238 was issued to Byers in 2014 and entitled “Lifting System”. “Optical coherence tomography systems and methods” Byers demonstrated an apparatus for raising and lowering objects. In accordance with some embodiments, a winch motor is adapted to rotate a winch member in opposing first and second directions to wrap/unwrap a portion of a cable on/from the winch member to raise and lower a lifting platform assembly, respectively. A tension detection switch assembly includes an on/off switch connected to the winch motor and a biasing member which exerts a bias force upon the winch member to nominally deflect the winch member to a first position which sets the switch to deactivate the winch motor in an absence of tension in the cable from the lifting platform assembly. This shows a vertical cable lifted platform unlike MacDonald's installation to the folding stairway.
Still another U.S. Pat. No. 8,579,081 issued to Richey et al in 2013 and entitled “Remote controlled overhead ladder system” demonstrated generally features of a remotely operated motor to lower and raise a set of folding stairs. It was silent as to any material transport or platform devices and was unlike MacDonald's Folding Attic Stairway Transport System. A typical folding stairway is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,706 issued to Cole et al in 1991 entitled “Ceiling Ladder”. It shows and teaches a folding ladder but has no mention of the material transport system invented by MacDonald.
A U.S. Pat. No. 6,533,070 by Elrod was issued in 2003 and was entitled “Roof Buddy”. It shows a raisable and lowerable platforms for use with ladders that are laid against exterior and interior walls, and against other inclined surfaces such as pitched roof surfaces. Two or more ladders can each include the platforms which are controlled by motors to raise and lower in unison. The platforms can be attached by rollers about exterior sides of the ladders or on the interior sides of the ladders, as needed. Single, two, or more ladder applications can include platforms being expandable to have enlarged surfaces. A longitudinal member such as a board, deck, etc., can also be positioned on the platform(s) so it can be used as a raisable and lowerable scaffolding system.